We made it out!!!

Have you visited an Escape Room yet?

I am so behind the times that I didn't even know Escape Rooms were a 'thing' here in our small city... until I went with a group of my greatest friends as an outing to start off an evening of fun for Alyx's Bachelorette Party last weekend. My only prior knowledge of Escape Room adventure had been from watching an episode of The Big Bang Theory where some of the gang went to one but I didn't know it was also an actual, real life thing to do. Anyhow, it sounded really fun and for a bunch of beyond COMPETITIVE roller derby girls it was a challenge none of us could refuse!

I feel very fortunate to be surrounded by such greatness in friendship!
(Photo Credit to Tricia)

We were all pretty excited as we met in the parking lot before heading in. A few of the girls had been to Escape Rooms in other cities and the rest of us hadn't any real idea of what to expect... but that's all part of the fun, I think. We spent a few minutes catching up and it was just the biggest treat to again be surrounded by some of the greatest friends and teammates I have been blessed in knowing.

Here we are..  Team Bride ...all set to begin our Escape adventure!

Once everyone was there and pinned-up with our Team Bride buttons and Alyx was all sashed-up in her Bride sash... we were set to go! We were just about to head into 'The Cabin' when the lady leading us to the door turned back to give one of our group members a single and extremely dim-lighted flashlight. Another from our team immediately asked, "Is it dark in there??!" And that's the moment my spirits began to fall... but I was with friends that I trust and feel entirely comfortable with after years of having one another's back, both on and off the roller derby track so I knew that ultimately, I was safe to give even the darkened room a try.

Entering the room was very scary for me (mobility-wise) but as I trustfully followed my friends inside to the waiting darkness I somehow fought the urge to turn back and wait on the outside for them. There was just enough light from the door still open as we filed in and there were tiny slivers of light reflected from the evening sun that found its way just barely in through the one boarded up window to the world outside. Once the door closed and was locked behind us we were in almost complete darkness but for the one flickering flashlight we'd been given and the few minuscule slits through the boards that didn't help us see anything but more offered a slight security...for me, anyhow. I had managed to carefully cross the room upon entry and found a small space to stand against the back wall beside the boarded window where I was safe from falling in all the dark room movement that was about to ensue around me.

I have to say that even as an 'outsider' in the Escape Room, thanks to not being able to easily and safely move around enough to take real part in the game, I still had a really great time. Escape Rooms are all about getting locked in a room, finding clues and solving puzzles in order to escape within a set time limit. I can't say I was able to actually help much with getting us out because there were so many action points necessary in bringing the clues together to solve the puzzles and make our escape possible but I did get to help at least a little bit with holding and pointing the flashlight for others to be able to work at tasks with both hands... and seeing my friends just dive with such excitement and gusto into the challenges just made my heart burst with pride for getting to share time with such joy in confidence!

Sure, looking back, I would have loved to be able to jump into every challenge right alongside my friends and for a minute I really wished that I had called ahead to find out if the Escape Rooms were safe in accessibility but now I'm more grateful that I just chanced it and went in even when I learned that it really wasn't the safest space for me right now. I may not have gotten to taken complete part in the group challenges but I did challenge my own self by trusting my friends enough to willingly head into a dark room with them... and I trusted my body (with the help of my Stix and a wall) to hold me through the fun of watching my posse free us ALL from 'The Cabin'!

We made it out with time to spare but Joelle really wanted to hold the "call my mom..." sign which,
of course, made me giggle! And here's what the Escape Room staff had to say...
“In for ‘The Cabin’ was a group even our Mountain Man was afraid to tangle with. Team Bride showed no mercy wanting to get to the Wedding on time and escaped with an amazing time of 18min 37sec left on the clock. Great job!”

If you've not yet experienced an Escape Room adventure, you are in for a fun time of super fun challenges should you decide to give it a try... we sure did!!

Simple 'Roasted Tomato' Soup

Well, in about four short hours... we will be doing..... this....... again.........

...because, yep.....it's canning time! Ughhhhh... I mean, yay. I don't love canning tomatoes, heck I don't even like doing the can-can the teensiest lil' bit BUT... I do love having home-canned tomatoes to cook with throughout the year so I can deal with the unfun work for a couple of days. Fortunately, this year we still have quite a few jars of both salsa and crushed peppers left from last years big can so we only need to replenish our crushed tomato supply which will make for an easier time. Still, ten bushels of tomatoes is no fun feat to sauce up, cook and can!

Anyhow, when we stopped by the vegetable truck from Southern Ontario (the Farmer drives up, sets up camp and stays for a few weeks with regular truck loads coming in to restock with fresh supply) I saw that he had the massive, beautiful Beefsteak Tomatoes in and couldn't resist a bushel of those, too... needless to say we have been eating pretty much nothing but tomatoes this week because they are seriously sooooo good! We've had tomato salads, fresh tomato salsa, toasted tomato sandwiches, stewed tomatoes over baked macaroni'n'cheese and I've been eating them for lunches just by the slice; it's not often we get the delicious farm-fresh tomatoes from a place with a much longer and better growing season than we get here with our own plantings so we are taking full advantage! Last night I made another tomato favourite of ours with the last of the Beefsteaks, tomato soup, and will freeze a couple of containers for future dinners so the goodness will last a little while longer. And, of course, since I like to share, I thought I would do just that since I haven't shared a recipe for a little while and I hope that you will love it and find it as comforting as we do if you ever decide to give it a try!


Roasted Tomato Soup 

(makes 15 cups)

Ingredients:

7         lbs         Beefsteak Tomatoes (washed and quartered)
2         lbs         Onions (peeled and wedged)
2         Tbsp      Garlic (minced)
         
5         cups      Vegetable Stock (or chicken stock if desired *we're just vegetarian these days*)
2         cups      Water

1 3/4    tsp        Salt
1/4       tsp        Pepper
1/2       tsp        Basil
1                      Bay Leaf

Tomatoes'n'onions waiting to get all soupy together!

They appear small in the picture above so to prove there size, here sit a
Tomato and onion beside a 1 cup measure.

Normally I just use a bay leaf but didn't have any on hand so I just
used 1/4 tsp of bay leaf flakes instead.

Step one:

Place prepared tomatoes and onions on a large parchment-lined baking tray and roast in a 375° oven for around 40 minutes or until tomato skins are puckered and onions are toasted-looking.

Step two:

*This is kind of an optional step for the onions... Enz is fussy about onions so I cook them to soft enough for pureeing. You could totally leave the big onion chunks or chop them after roasting to leave little onion bites in the soup like I would given the choice.*

While tomatoes cool enough to handle, sauté the garlic and roasted onions in a splash of olive oil (I also added a couple of pats of butter into the sauté mixture but the butter is totally optional). Cook down until the onions are softened.

Step three:

Add to the pot enough broth to cover the onions and purée to smooth.

Step four:

Carefully peel skins from tomatoes.

Step five:

Add the roasted tomatoes, remaining stock, water and spices pot and simmer until tomatoes soften and fall apart and flavours meld... about an hour or so.

*I make my own stock which has a lot of vegetable pulp in it so you may want to use all stock instead of adding water if you are using a more watery stock. I will add my stock recipe below in case you would like to try making it.*

I had pulled out the dried basil because I thought we were totally out of the  leaves
but then had a sudden remembering of the bag in the freezer that my pa-in-law had brought
for us from his garden last week so I used a handful of that instead of the dried flakes.

Step six:

The soup is actually basically done and ready when the tomatoes are cooked and broken up enough and I leave it as is but if you prefer a more blended tomato texture feel free to blend the tomatoes in before serving.

Enz and I both love this soup on its own but for an extra little crunchy treat we also love it with these tortilla chips... I like a couple to dunk and Enz likes a couple crunched up and mixed in. Usually we just have a bowl of soup with a piece of garlic bread and a salad for a hearty yet still mostly healthy dinner.

I hope you will love this soup as much as we do! What are your favourite comfort foods to make with fresh grown produce?

As promised, here is my simple vegetable stock recipe..

Simple Vegetable Stock

Ingredients:

350     grams      Celery  (washed and chunked)
500     grams      Carrots (peeled and chunked)
350     grams      Onions (peeled and wedged)
1 1/2   Tbsp       Garlic (minced)
                          Olive Oil
1          tsp         Salt
1/2       tsp         Pepper
                          Water

Step one:

Prepare vegetables and place in a large pot along with the spices then, fill pot with cold water and bring to a boil.

Once boiling turn down to a low'n'slow simmer!

Step two:

*After about 1 1/2 hours do a broth taste check and add more salt/pepper if needed.*

Simmer for approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hours until broth is cooked down and vegetables are soft and squishable.

Step three: *OPTIONAL STEP*

Squish the vegetables through a strainer to get as much of the nutrients out of them as possible! If you don't want a 'pulpy' broth you can totally just remove the vegetables and be done with the broth as is!

Step four:

Add the clear broth to the squished vegetable pulp and it is good to go for use in soups, stews, sauces... whateve's!

I usually freeze it in containers and just pull one out whenever a stock need arises in cooking.

We will be missing our friend Enzo... incredibly.

Yesterday was another day of heart-hurting goodbye...

Saying goodbye to Enz's best friend Enzo was something none of us ever wanted to have happen, including Enzo. Enzo absolutely did not want to leave the life he loved, the family he loved or the friends he loved. Enzo wanted to live, even if continuing to live meant that he had to do it with the excruciating and all-encompassing pain he had spent the past months engulfed in. He somehow found the strength, even just hours before his body decided it could take no more, to adamantly assure the doctors that he was "NOT going anywhere!" and that he was going to be fine.

Enzo was not one to sit back in illness and had been very proactive in aggressively treating the colon cancer he'd been diagnosed with two years ago; he followed the advice and treatments of the doctors who were treating him BUT he also took his own healing into his own hands as he worked simultaneously with a Naturopath helping both his body and his mind to remain as comfortable and as positive as possible through all the unfortunate effects of medical treatment. He found ways while working with the Naturopath as well as working with his brother, a Physiotherapist, to help curb his chemo-induced sickness and neuropathy by working to keep his body strong, even when his body screamed at him that it was too tired to try. Enzo often went straight from chemo to physio and then would call Enz to go for coffee or just to get out together for a chat and a walk... he very rarely let any of his suffering keep him from the things he loved doing and the people he loved doing them with.

Enzo was one who worked hard to keep his important friendships thriving and even through the years he lived in Toronto he and Enz kept connected so that every time he came home to visit it was like not an hour had even passed between them. Born just three days apart to families who were friends, Enz and Enzo were best buds for fifty-two years and to say that Enz is feeling absolutely lost without his daily chats with the best friend he's ever known would be an understatement of massive proportion.

We'd been out at our camp on the evening when Enz had received the message from Enzo's brother, telling us that Enzo had been admitted to hospital again and that this time he wasn't doing well, at all. The following afternoon, once Enzo had been comfortably settled into his room, Enz and I headed in to spend some time with him... both of us were heartfully hoping for a hospital visit just like the ones we'd shared previously with Enzo sitting up in bed with a big smile sharing a laughter-filled chat before we'd walk the hallways or, if he was feeling up to it, all the way down to the cafeteria where he could sit by the windows in the Sunshine. But Enzo wasn't sitting up in bed smiling this time. His eyes opened only twice while we were there but he locked directly onto each of us and he recognised us and could nod just ever so slightly so we knew he understood us. And when we left him so he would feel content to get the rest his body needed rather than trying to force his eyes open for us he managed somehow to whisper, "Coffee... soon....... soon........." It was their 'thing' in making sure they kept their connection, coffee and a chat two or three times a week whenever Enzo was between treatment appointments and Enz had a few minutes he could leave work and even through the pain and exhaustion overtaking him, he wanted to make sure Enz knew they would be back to normal 'soon'.

Enzo was also the 'hub' of the group that slowly grew in friendship over the years of Holiday visits home. Every Christmas he would get us all together with him and his cousin, Frank, for an outing, usually to a pub for dinner or drinks and appetizers if it was later in the evening and eventually it turned into a strong friendship for all of us, Enzo and I even went on our Alaska cruise with Rob and Corinne, the other couple in the group. Once Enzo had moved back home to Thunder Bay, the Holiday Group grew closer and the four guys, Enzo, Enz, Rob and Peter (who are brothers) even formed a weekly coffee/stockbroker meeting group as they tried to figure out how to properly invest for their retirements... Corinne and I sometimes tagged along but we soon realized how boring the 'meetings' were and usually found ourselves at the table next door to them instead... Turns out none of the guys really ever figured out how do to do anything but unfortunately buy HIGH and sell LOW so the group pretty quickly fell back to all-inclusive coffee chat dates! They tried aaand they had fun, that was the main thing! So yesterday, at the funeral for the friend we all cared so deeply about... it was really hard to have to watch the guys... Enz, Rob, Peter and Frank along with another of Enzo's cousins and his nephew in their dreaded but honoured roles of Pallbearers on a day so hard to have to face. The circle of best friends standing guard over the one they will now have to learn to live without.

Enzo had a love for travelling and we looked forward to the stories of the people, the cultures, the exploring he immersed himself fully into throughout his incredible adventures to Guatemala, Spain, Honduras, Mexico among others and everywhere he went, he helped wherever and however he was needed. He didn't travel to holiday, he travelled to work, helping people who needed help in creating better living conditions for themselves. He learned to speak fluent Spanish and volunteered his university-earned science and teaching/counselling skills in orphanages and villages who welcomed him to share his knowledge and the children he worked with filled his heart with their desire to learn and their ability to thrive in some of the harshest surroundings he could even bear to have to experience. Still, Enzo's dream was to get back to healthy so he could get back to exploring the world and making new and lasting relationships in wherever his future travels would take him.

We'd all been happy to have our friend closeby after he had moved back home but we all knew that he planned to be away as much as he could, working in service to those who needed his help around the world. But then, once he became an uncle, his travelling heart grew roots even he could not ignore and it was the birth of Enzo' beautiful niece that finally cemented his resolve to stay in Thunder Bay. Enz and I totally understood his want to be a constant in his niece's life because living so far away from the niece and nephews we love so much has been really hard for us. The three of us kind of 'got' each other in that way of not having been able to have our own kiddoes but in wanting so badly to be able to, instead found the blessing in, for me being an aunty, and for them getting to be the greatest uncles ever! Enzo's niece was without doubt the sunshine of his world and I only hope she will remember how proud he was to receive the gift of being her uncle because she really did 'hang the moon' for him and the smiles of pure proud'n'joy that filled him at just the mention of her name was really a sight of beautiful.

The one trip he had always dreamed of taking and had talked about for all the twenty-four years I have been fortunate enough to share friendship with him was Peru... he was enthralled with the Inca City history and he wanted desperately to full-on experience the great Machu Picchu Trail. And he did! A few years back he made the Machu Picchu trek of his dreams and to say it lived up to his expectation wouldn't be anywhere near enough... it far surpassed his every expectation and he came home filled with a wonder I can't even begin to describe. I am so grateful he got to truly live his ultimate dream.

Enz was lucky to get a few more minutes with Enzo just a couple of hours before his body could take no more. The last time I saw Enzo was on that last hospital visit a day and a half before. I remember him lying so in pain and struggling to breathe but even when I look back to that day, last week, I don't see him like that.

I see him like this...

4200m... The highest point on the trail to Machu Pichu in Peru.

Our very first camp sleepover!!!

WooHooooooo we had our very first sleepover at camp on the weekend!!!

We’d taken a drive out to the camp one day last week when we had a couple loads of dirt delivered and while the boys and I had waited in the guest cabin between deliveries I suddenly decided we were insane to not have slept over, even once, quite yet. The guest cabin has been finished and ready for use for two years now but until a month, or so, ago I was still unable to haul myself up the ladder to the sleeping loft and though there is a queen-sized futon below, the boys beds take up too much room to be able to open and use it. So, all of our trips to camp have been day or evening trips BUT I am not complaining… I am a big fan of even just the drive out to camp and am grateful for any moment I get to spend there. Still, I decided it was time to start spending even more time in our little piece of peace in progress and on our drive home that afternoon I told Enz, “We need to come back either tonight or tomorrow night to bring the sheets home and organize so we can sleep over on Saturday.” Enz had simply nodded and appeased me with, “Sure whatever, Gillian.” And then, when I mentioned it again over dinner he had every excuse of why we couldn’t possibly stay over…

“The boys don’t have beds for up there, Gillian.”

“They have their Orvis camp beds of plaid, Vincenzo.”

“But the camp beds look good in the house and they use them every day, Gillian.”

“I ordered them specifically for the camp and we only brought them home to store them over the winter, Vincenzo.”

“So, what are gonna do with the empty spaces at home that they're used to having filled with beds, Gillian?”

“I’ll order new ones for them, Vincenzo.”

“The boys won’t use the new pen and I’m not taking them down the road on leashes in the middle of the night, Gillian.”

“We’ll put the gate up so they go straight from the cabin into the pen; they have to start getting used to using the pen at some point so we may just as well start now, Vincenzo.”

“You’ll have to use the biffy, Gillian.”

“I’ve used it before, Vincenzo, and anyhow that’s why it’s a flushing toilet so I cannnnn use it!”

“We don’t have any power in there, Gillian.”

“We have the generator and it’s called CAMP… electricity is not a necessity when we have lanterns, flashlights and coolers, Vincenzo.”

“And what if I want to watch television, Gillian???”

“Oh, for fucksakes we’ll bring all the iPads fully charged and loaded with shows and movies, Vincenzo.”

“I guess we could bring the portable dvd player with some show seasons.”

“Fine, whatever… as long as we sleep over, I could really care less at this point because you’re making me crazy! I mean, seriously, when’s the last time you watched television?”

“I’dunno, when I had my surgery maybe.”

“So, four months ago. And you’re worried about having one night away from home with no television.”

“Well, who knows, maybe Saturday might be a day where I feel like watching something!”

“Fuck you, we’re sleeping over.”

And in the end… we DID sleep over at camp. And it was fantastical!

Saturday came, Enz had spent the day out at camp working on levelling out the driveway from the road down to the lake to lessen the severity of the incline to hopefully make getting down and back up a little easier and less dangerous for me; I had slid badly on the steepness a week before and it had really scared us both. The boys and I had stayed home so I could try and catch up with the laundry and also get a little sewing done while loads were going. I hadn’t bothered to actually pack up any overnight-for-camp stuff because I figured bothering would be pointless and energy wasting when Enz clearly wasn’t into sleepaway camp time yet. So guess who was over the moon when he came home at dinner time and asked if we were going out to camp and then said that he just first needed to have a shower and get cleaned up after his day of dirt-moving work. I honestly thought he meant we were just going to take a drive for the evening as usul but I asked him, “Are you taking stuff for overnight?” And he said, “I thought you wanted to stay out there tonight…” I figured no more questions would be the best questions and quickly packed a nightie and a sundress for the following day into an overnight bag before getting the boys things together and ready as I chatted to them about the plan for our first camp night and how they would need to be big boys of brave sleeping in the cabin and how their new pen would have to do for bathroom breaks and about how cool it was going to be to stay in the cabin for our very first sleepaway night with lantern lights and camp snacks! I think it was the camp snacks that actually won them over…

Of course, because Enz had refused to prepare or even discuss my desires of perfect first weekend camp fare I had to make due with what we had at home to bring along for breakfast and lunch but it all turned out okay; I cut up a bunch of fruit and made a cream cheese fruit dip, took a couple of 12 Grain bagels out of the freezer and a jar of peanut butter from the pantry, some coffee’n’fixins and we were set for breakfast. Lunch stuff was just as quick and easy with a basket of fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, some cheese and a box of chips. Lots of water, a couple coolers and we were all set for sleepaway camp awesomeness.

I really wasn’t sure that the boys would be comfortable staying overnight so although I packed for the night I had already made peace in my heart that we might well be heading home again once darkness fell.

Play was ready to get this whole camp show on the road already! While Day was more concerned with the comforts of home I had promised but he didn't see packed to take along with us...

We did, of course, bring their beds, food, water, snacks and medicines as we'd promised... and I even had enough room on my lap to hold the bag with Enz's and my stuff aaand the grocery bag! Thankfully, Enz was able to somehow squish the cooler in the back seat beneath the camp beds so we didn't have to either make two trips or take two cars!

It was already close to ten o'clock when we arrived but Play immediately hopped out of the car to check and see if any of his camp friends might still be awake to say hello to...

Day refused to get down on his own, as usual, but also took a good long look for his camp posse before finally telling his dad he was ready for his lift'n'carry into the cabin...

Our first order of business was to get the boys beds inside. Day was so insistent on getting into his bed that he didn't even wait for me to turn it properly and just flung himself in the instant it was down. At least the boys were comfy as they lay watching us bring in the rest of the overnight stuff we  had brought along.

Enz went up to open all the sleeping platform windows while I tried to make room on the tiny counter for the little bit of groceries we'd brought out with us.

And then I crawled up to make the bed (YAYYY!! so excited to finally get to sleep in the campy fishie bedding!!!) while he finished carting the rest of our things inside... or so I thought.....

 ...turns out he had decided a drink break was more important than unpacking...

Enz kind'a decided I was an annoying camper as soon as it was bedtime, which wasn't long after we'd arrived because we'd arrived so late. The boys were already tucking into their overnight comfort sleepies so as I headed, lantern in hand, out TO THE BIFFY (seriously SO campy!), he took the boys out to their pen and BOTH boys peed IN THE PEN before quickly sprinting back inside to their cozy, waiting beds and were already conked out cold when I came back inside. Then Enz took the biffy lantern and headed out for his turn while I said goodnight to the boys and carefully made my way up the ladder to get tucked into the waiting coziness. It wasn't long before Enz was climbing the ladder and I asked him...

"Which side do you want?"
"Does it matter? Looks like you already picked a side..."
"Do you want this side?"
"No, this side's fine, Gillian." He said as he crawled into the bed.
"Because I'm not sure I want this side, I was just figuring I miiiiight want this side... but I wasn't for sure deciding..."
"Which side do YOU  want, Gillian???!!"
"I'm okay over here..."
*fast forward four minutes*
"Do you want to try this side, Enz?"
"Do you want me to try that side, Gillian??"
"Yes, please."
"And I assume it's going to be me who's getting up to do the actual moving?"
"Yes, please."
*fast forward four more minutes*
"I'm too hot."
"Stop talking, you'll cool off, Gillian."
"We needed a window over top of the doors, remember like I wanted, to get the breeze off the lake... I wish you would have put a window right there where I asked you to and then maybe I wouldn't be too hot right now."
"Go to sleep, Gillian."
"At least it's cool downstairs with the bigger door window open for the boys to sleep comfortably..."
"I'll get a fan for next time we sleep over, just deal with it for one night."
"We don't have electricity for a fan up here yet and we can't keep the generator on all night because then I'll be annoyed with the noise."
"You mean like I'm annoyed with the noise right now?"
"What noise?"
"They make fans that work on the rechargeable tool batteries, I'll pick one up."
"Really? I didn't even know there was such a thing."
"There is."
"Are you sure? Because I don't like being too hot."
"Yes. Go to sleep, Gillian."
*fast forward four more minutes*
"Do you hear all those hordes of mosquitoes outside the windows??!"
*sighhh* "Yes."
"Lucky they're not inside!"
"I think a couple got in..."
"That's not fun."
"Go to sleep, Gillian."
*fast forward four more minutes*
"Are you afraid of falling off?"
"I put rails on the bed to make sure that won't happen, Gillian."
"So, you're not afraid?"
"No."
"I'm a little afraid of falling off... Can I put one of your pillows between me and the railing, just in case?"
"No, put one of your own there..."
"But I need both of mine for sleeping! And anyhow, you can always just get another one from downstairs if you need to."
"Fine, HERE! Now, go to sleep already!!"
*fast forward four more minutes*
*bzzzzzzzzz*
*SMACK*
"What the heck was that??!" I asked when the sudden loudness from absolute darkness nearly launched me OVER the bedrails from the shock of it.
"Mosquito."
"Did you get it??"
"I don't know," he answered sounding pained, "but I sure as fuck got my fuckin' FACE good!"
"What??? *giggle*snicker*snort* You clobbered your own face with that much *HAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA* that much *snort*chortle* force?! *hahhh-hahahahaaa* Why would you *breath*choke-chuckle*OhMyTummyHurts*hahahaha* why would you hit yourself in the face that hard!!? *tears rolling laughter*
"I didn't mean to, it's so fuckin' dark in here that I couldn't even see where my hand was aiming... I just didn't wan'ta get bit!"
"So, instead you just decided it was better to *snort*tears*belly-laughter* smack half your face off?!"
"Please, just go to sleep, Gillian.."

I'm not sure how long it actually took but eventually the hysterical laughter fits over Enz's massive face slap tired me out enough that I did finally fall to sleep.

But when the sun started to reappear the next morning, I was up and ready for our very first camp morning!!!

"Enz... Enz... *shake*nudge* Are you awake yet?"
"What? Nooooo... what time is it?"
"It's already almost six-thirty... we stayed the whole night!! Look outside, the sun's coming up and it's starting to glow through the trees... I can only see the lake through the trees on account of you didn't put the window over the door like I talked about last night for the crossbreeaze needs but at least I can see it a little over there from the trees. C'mon, let's go out on the patio!"
"I'm sleeping, Gillian."
"You're not sleeping, you're talking... and the morning's already starting!"
"I'm only talking because you're making me talk when I should be still SLEEPINGGGGG!!!"
"Um, snarkyyyyy...

And really, I ask you... how could anyone be snarky to this face of cheerfulness on a camp morning aaand..... in campy fishie bedding??!

"Hey, Enz... the boys did really good huh? They both slept right through the whole night."
"Yeah, but I had to get up and cover them around four because Play was making cold-noises and Day was curled up tight, too... Now go back to sleep, Gillian."
"I can't sleep, the sun's already up... and we're at camp!! I'm pretty sure I heard Day getting up onto the futon a little while ago."
"I think they took turns sleeping on the futon through the night."
"At least they were comfortable and settled."
"Yep."
"Do you want to get up and make a campfire to toast our breakfast bagels on? I didn't bring stuff for a big breakfast of awesomeness because you didn't give me enough 'we're actually staying over warning' but we could still have fire-toasty bagels..."
"Or we could just toast them in the toaster downstairs when we have the generator turned on to make coffee, Gillian."
"Want to go see if there are any fishin' boats out on the lake yet??"
"Gillian, what kinds of things did your mom used to put into your travel activity bags?"
"Tons of cool stuff! Silly Putty, Choose Your Own Adventures, bottle caps, hot rods, mountain grop, fun-dip, Archie's, Jughead's, invisible ink books, colouring books, word searches... all kinds of fun things! Why?"
"Because I'm gonna make you a camp activity bag so I can get some SLEEP IN THE MORNINGGGGGS!!!!!"
"You suck, Vincenzo... I'm going down to sit with the boys, I'm sure they'll be nicer and campier to me."

So... off I crawled downstairs to open the drapes and let the sunshine in with hopes that my PlayDay Duo would wan to share in the joy of our first ever camp morning together!

But Day, well...

And Play, well...

It seemed I was morningly alone, even in the midst of company in the close quarters we all shared just then. But it was just so exciting to have woken up at camp and I couldn't keep it inside so I chatted away the fun in hopes that anyone might just decide to chime in along with me in conversation. Before long, I did have company climbing down the stairs...

I can't say it was exactly 'cheerful' company but it was company.

This is the back of a very grumpy camper trying to get the coffee made as quickly as possible in hopes that it would him to put up with the annoyingness of the cheerful camper…

And once the coffee was brewing, I did finally have company to greet the morning with on the patio...

The boys still were not greet-the-sunshine game, though...

Play said, "Yeah, yeah... I can see the morning just fine from right here....."

And Day said, "Look at the morning??! Um, how 'bout maybe later... we'll aim for breakfast time morning, okay?"

The morning bugs were biting so I headed back inside to sit with the boys... who still weren't into facing the morning with me,

Before we knew it, breakfast time had arrived and the boys finally found incentive to face our first camp morning with tummy-filling joy!

Once we'd all finished having breakfast and coffee we thought a quiet little walk would do us all good! But we didn't get far because the bugs were bugging galore and the usual bug-shooing breeze was taking the morning off, it seemed. So instead, we headed down to the main cabin so Enz could work on installing the outdoor pen light while I opened up all the windows, to let the fresh air of the lake come in as the breeze finally began to pick up. I also did a little organizing to make it easier to get around in the building mess and to open up the screened room area so the boys would be more comfortable and also so that we would have an easier time having picnics out there without so much mess on the table.

The boys happily began their after-breakfast naps...

Until Enz started making noise...

...noise that the boys were so not impressed with.....

When Enz came in for lunch and a cooler break... I very quickly discovered that this could easily become a hobby...

All in all... I'd have to say it was a pretty perfect, if rushed'n'hushed, first sleepover at camp and I see many, MANY more camp sleepovers in our future! The camp magic is only just beginning and I, for one, can't wait to greet every morning already in wait!

Good times... good times.....